If you havent been paying attention to ski resort real estate in recent years, you could be missing a exceptional and unique investment opportunity. With all the recent talk of a housing bubble, the case does not hold true for most resort areasespecially ones that are not affected by hurricanes. While no solid statistics are available from any government entity, the second home market is booming all across the US and especially in Colorado. Particularly in Keystone Colorado.

Just prior to September 11th, 2001, the real estate appreciation in Keystone and Summit County Colorado was clipping along at a 17% per year rate for condominiumsboth slope side and further away near golf courses. The market sustained that growth for 7 years prior to 9/11. A few months after 9/11, things started slowing down, but it never went turned negative. Appreciation rates slowed to ~4-6% for most properties in the condominium category. In the years following, things stayed at that same rate, then in 2005, the market started to move again at a eye brow raising 12%. So far this year in 2006, we have seen the appreciation rates in Keystone exceed 12% year to date and there is no sign of slowing.

Why is Keystone such a great place to buy real estate? In recent years, the big ski resort companies have been putting millions upon millions of dollars into upgrading ski resorts to be first class since that is what the demand is. Copper Mountain for example just went through a huge expansion since Intrawest bought the resort a few years ago. Along with it came massive real estate development along with development of an entire base area and alpine village. Today, the construction is done even done, and price have climbed to amazing levels. If you got in on the base floor, you made a killing on your investment. The same holds true again for Vail Colorado. SureVail is expensive, but Vail Resorts, Inc is just putting the finishing touches on the latest expansion of Vail's village that cost right around 1 Billion dollars. Breckenridge, under the control of Vail Resorts, Inc just added the highest ski lift in the world to attract more visitors.

The answer to investing in Keystone Colorado is easy. While many parts of Keystone are new from the latest expansion in the late 1990's in Keystone's River Run Village, there are many vacant lots owned by Vail Resorts Incorporated still in the area and you can bet that those lots will not go for parking lots! The time has come for Keystone to catch up to the rest of the ski resorts in Colorado.

The great thing about investing in ski resort real estate especially in Keystone Colorado is that it is an investment that isn't boring like a stock or bond. It's a fun investment that you can use for yourself and your family. Take a week and go skiing, or go in the summertime to go hiking or sailing in Lake Dillon. Best of all, you can have peace of mind knowing that it is growing at a rate that is far better than any stock or bond, and if the growth rate isn't enough for you, you can rent your property to vacationers and bring in some extra income to offset any homeowners association dues or mortgages you may have with your property.

This is NOT a "Own your vacation" timeshare spiel. This is primarily a investment opportunity to make some serious money for yourself, while the secondary benefit is your personal use. Other possible benefits are tax savings, rental income, and just the downright coolness of owning a resort property in general. Not exactly boring, now is it?

Usually when you see investment articles on CNN or in newspapers about a certain stock to buy it's too late to get in. In fact, how many times have you read the headline and bought a stock right away only to have it tank a week or two down the road? It's definitely not too late to take advantage and buy an investment property in Keystone Colorado. Right now there is little new construction going on, yet the demand for real estate speaks for itself in the sales numbers of the local MLS. Plans are on the table for a new Marriot and Hyatt hotel that are ski-in ski-out at Keystone. The biggest news to hit is the possible expansion of the already popular River Run Gondola across the Snake River and into the nearby Hunky Dori parking lot. It's not often that a ski lift moves closer to existing condos which were "walk to slopes" and making them "ski-in ski-out". Remember the 12% appreciation mentioned earlier? Any idea what moving a lift will do for nearby real estate prices? Quite a lot, but it's only our speculation at the moment.

Probably the most convincing evidence of a great investment opportunity is not in the actual appreciation of the property, but in the rental income potential and the massive demand for rental properties. Go take a look on Travelocity, Orbitz, or any other high-traffic travel website. Which destination in Colorado do you see lined up right along with the Caribbean, Hawaii, and any other destination? Breckenridge Colorado. Vail Resorts spends the majority of it's advertising dollars on Breckenridge. As a result, they pull in over 1.4 million skier visits per year to Breckenridge alone as of the 2004-05 ski season. Breckenridge is a huge place and at any given time can sleep approximately 30,000 people in its own rooms. Now consider this: Keystone is only 13 miles away from Breckenridge. People know that Breckenridge is crowded during the prime ski season and they want a little less of the hustle and bustle, so they choose to stay and ski at Keystone. With little advertising, Keystone reaps in just under 1 million skier visits per year as of the 2004-05 ski season. Not a whole lot less than Breckenridge. While, at the same time, Keystone only has the capacity to sleep about 10,000 people on any given night. What does that say about the rental potential? It says that Keystone offers a far better investment opportunity and a much better chance of bringing in enough rental income to significantly lower your cost. Depending on your financial situation, and how much money you put down on your real estate investment in Keystone, it is not too uncommon to have your property pay for itself with rental incomeeven AFTER the property manager takes his fee.

If none of this is convincing to you, we'll be happy to show you our rental income number for our current property owners to prove to you what the investment opportunity is in Keystone Colorado. If you are looking at the possibility of buying a second come or vacation investment property, take a careful look at Keystone and decide whether it makes sense for you. We are truly convinced that the best investment in ski resort real estate right now is in Keystone.